Category Archives: General

The history of encryption

The deployment of the Enigma Machine by Nazi forces in World War II, and the cracking of its cryptographic systems by allied codebreakers heralded an immense increase in international interest in encrypted systems. Since then there has been an exponential rise in the use of the internet for the communication and storage of data, resulting in growing investment in strong encryption techniques from major technology firms.

Security Alliance is pleased to announce that Rob Dartnall our Director of Intelligence will be speaking about Cyber resiliency programmes in Healthcare at the Healthcare Cyber Security Conference in Manchester.

Join us for the second annual Healthcare Cyber Security Conference where speakers from across the NHS and technology sectors will explain how to prepare, detect and protect their organisations data from cyber threats. You will have the opportunity to question, discuss and debate the very latest policies, security technologies and best practice case studies, as well as sharing your own experiences with the conference and contributing to wider thinking about cyber security and data in healthcare

Since the implementation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May, media reports of data breaches have skyrocketed. British Airways, Facebook, Ticketmaster, and Cathay Pacific are all organisations that have made headlines over the last months showing the breadth of sectors affected worldwide by data compromises.

Compliance-driven pieces have been a relatively common occurrence in the media since the application of GDPR. We however aim to look in this blog post at GDPR from a threat actors’ perspective. With GDPR bringing in major changes on the management and transfer of data, threat actors are likely to find innovative ways to exploit and benefit from these changes.

Security Alliance is pleased to announce that Rob Dartnall our Director of Intelligence will be chairing the 5th Annual Financial Services Cyber Security Forum in London.

Date: 13th September 2018

Location: Grange Tower Bridge Hotel 45 Prescot Street, London, E1 8GP

With global cybercrime costs potentially reaching £5 trillion by 2021, the financial services industry remains the main target for cyber security criminals all over the world and especially in the UK, the leading international financial centre. Figures from the Financial Conduct Authority show that reported data hacking attacks against financial services companies quadrupled in 2017. The National Cyber Security Centre recorded over 1,100 reported attacks, with 590 regarded as significant last year. Thirty of these incidents required action by government bodies, a large number of which were targeted at financial sector organisations.

For much of the time, cybersecurity researchers can find themselves limited to informed speculation and assessment about the sort of activity that cybercriminals perform, prior to launching a large cyber-theft operation. We believe that they will be performing reconnaissance on employees at the bank, particularly those in privileged positions linked to the payment and IT platforms, but some of the more precise details are limited. However, every now and again, information will be leaked which can provide some unique insight into the activities of cybercriminal groups and what they look for in a victim.

On the 16th July, the Department of Justice indicted 12 Russian nationals for their role in the cyber operations against the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It was the latest in a series of private sector and government publications that provide proof tying Russian hackers to the breaches of Democrat Party institutions and the theft of confidential information.

The Russian Federation is currently pursuing a radical transformation to internet connectivity within the country. RuNet 2020 is an ambitious project to establish a national government-controlled network which is intended to function in an insulated environment from the broader internet in the event of a crisis.

Security Alliance is a proud sponsor of the The Hong Kong Institute of Bankers Cybersecurity Solutions Day 2018.

The Cybersecurity Solutions Day aims to gather decision makers from the financial sector and serves as a platform for direct networking between industry experts, solution providers and practitioners. Our mission is to bring insights on the latest issues and trends in cybersecurity, and food for thoughts on how to mitigate the risk of cyberattack.

Regional conflict almost invariably brings with it consequences beyond its initial cause. The surrounding countries and regions suffer in a multitude of ways – from the massive and immediate human misery to ongoing political, economic and civil instability, and more long term diplomatic tensions and wounds that take time to heal.

Our historical understanding of protest as a means of political upheaval tends to be rooted in the idea of direct conflict between two clearly defined agendas or ideologies – between grassroots activism and state apparatus, for instance. We imagine crowds marching and holding placards, voicing their dissent in unison.

However, as we become increasingly interconnected and conduct more of our lives online, technology is changing our conceptions of protest and direct action altogether.